News

Destroyed evidence leaves the case of the big cat wide open

A CALF carcass that triggered an expensive search for a supposed puma prowling around Co Monaghan was destroyed before an autopsy by a big cat expert could be carried out.

The animal remains were disposed of at a knackery following an inspection in what gardai say was normal procedure.

The manner in which the calf was killed prompted concern that a wild cat was on the loose and led to an extensive hunt. A team of army marksmen, backed up by a garda helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft were deployed to search for the puma because of a perceived threat to local children and livestock.

Stephen Philpot, director of the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) and a big cat expert, doubted the need for a search. He branded RTE’s broadcasting of pictures “of what was obviously a domestic cat” as “absolutely stupid”. “You couldn’t make